Tag Archives: austrailia

Meet Emmaline Lamond, 36, from Mornington, Victoria, Australia. She is the beautifully creative mind behind Coco Press and is mama to her beautiful one-year-old daughter, Amelie. I met Emmaline through a Giveaway she was hosting and I was lucky enough to win her amazing hand-printed cards! Today, I’m honored to share her story with you.

Emmaline was first introduced to lincout printing in her high-school art class. After school, she had to put her creative ventures aside and as she says, “get on with life,” but decided to take them back up again after she found her old art supplies in a box during a recent move.

“I found my printing gear and fell in love, again. At the time I was working in a stressful corporate job, I found that carving a lino block in preparation for printing was incredibly stress relieving. I was hooked and my obsession has continued to grow over the last few years to a point where I now have a studio over flowing with ink, printing gear and most importantly, three beautiful presses.”

So, what exactly is linocut printing, you ask? I know, I had the same question and Emmaline filled me in a little of the process.

“Lino cutting is a method of relief printing. Its lots of fun, well at least I think so. You basically start with a sheet of lino, I use a softer vinyl product and carve into it with special tools that allow you to cut away the negative space, this leaves only the positive space (the actual parts that print).”

“Think of it as a great big hand carved stamp that you then ink up with a roller (brayer) and then stamp onto paper, with the help of a printing press. I love the tactile nature of printing, I love the problem solving involved, the subtle tweaking you have to do to get it just right.”

Photo from Emmaline Lamond

Emmaline works with a press from the ’70s as newer machines are not really being manufactured right now, but to my surprise, she informed me that there are people who use reconditioned machines that date back to the 1900’s! She says that she would love an older press, but they are harder to find – and more expensive – in Australia than in America.

“I do love that they each have their own history, where have they come from who has worked and created on them in the past? For the time being, I am content to work with my lovely Chandler and Price table top and my smaller bright red Adana table top press.”

While Emmaline had been involved in craft fairs for a few years, she did not decide to make this a full-time business until September 2012, when she was put on maternity leave.

“I have been working very hard for the last 12 months or so to build up my business, create a larger range of cards and prints, find the right craft markets for my work (we moved interstate at the same time I started my business), learn the finer points of letterpress printing all while learning to be a mum for the first time!”

She recently launched the invitation side of her business, and she also launched her wedding stationary at a local Bridal Expo. Since she is still building that part, she says that most of her sales come from her letterpress cards rather than her wedding stationary.

Amelie is already a big helper! Photo from Emmaline Lamond

“I LOVE working with couples to create their perfect wedding stationery. I adore hearing all about their big dreams for their big day, the dress, the location the colour scheme, all of it. It really inspires me to create something unique and beautiful just for them, something that will remain a treasured keepsake they can pull out as the years pass and they celebrate many anniversaries together.”

Like many of us new moms (ok, probably all of us), Emmaline hasn’t had a normal work day since having her little girl last year, and she says her work style has definitely changed.

“I try to keep a to-do list at hand and do my best to work my way through it in 10-minute chunks, as this is usually the longest my little girl will play independently. There is always something to do, drawing, refining my designs in Photoshop, cutting paper, printing, packaging, photographing my products, listing my products… the list goes on and on!”

All of the designs on Emmaline’s cards, invitations and linocut prints are created by her. She says she is drawn to Art Nouveau and whimsical images, and also loves creating her own quirky designs for cards and invites. As for the wedding side, she opts out of the traditional wedding designs, as she says there are plenty of people who “do traditional designs way better than me.”

“But no one else can create my designs exactly like I do. All my designs start with an idea, an inkling, a whimsical daydream that I turn into a drawing and the drawings I like the most are converted into digital images with the help of a scanner, Photoshop and my trusty Wacom tablet. These digital images are then made into photopolymer plates that are used for the actual printing.”

Photo from Emmaline Lamond

While Emmaline admits that being a new mom and starting her creative business can be a little tough, she says that she loves every minute of it.

“I feel so privileged to be in a position to make my small dream of entrepreneurship come true. I am totally motivated by my daughter I want to be able to show her that it is possible to live the life you dream of, for me that means building a sustainable business that will allow me to contribute to our household whilst building a loving and nurturing home for my little family.”

Although Emmaline works alone, her partner helps with the little one on the weekends so she can spend a few hours printing on the weekend. She waited until her daughter was a little older to return to the craft fair scene, and now her daughter gets more compliments than her art does!

” I love everything about being a mum. I adore my little girl. I could complain about lack of sleep and those downsides you hear other people talk of but I don’t really mind, she’s only this little for such a short time that I just want to enjoy it all.”

She is focusing on craft shows that are close to her home, and fortunately she lives in a beautiful beachside area which is popular for tourists, and therefore also popular for craft shows. She says that the best and worst part about running her own business is that you live and breathe it.

Photo from Emmaline Lamond

“I love that I have so much passion and drive to make this a success but I also know that I should step away from it more often to live in the moment with my baby and my partner.

While Emmaline has a hard time picking her favorite thing about the entire creative process, she can easily pinpoint her favorite part of the printing process.

“That first time you get to see a new print, peeling the paper back off the printing plate to see the image revealed for the first time- its just magic!”

Emmaline describes her personal style as quirky, whimsical and fun, and she wants people to be able to recognize her work the moment they see it.

“I think it’s also important to have a bit of a sense of humour about your work and to realise that what you create isn’t going to appeal to everyone.”

She recently started creating her own tote bags, and said that they are now on the sidelines while she perfects them, but that won’t last long. And as for the future of her creative business as a whole, well – you will just have to wait and see!

Photo from Emmaline Lamond

“I have huge plans for the future, I’m working on a top secret kick arse idea a the moment, one that will take lots of hard work and maybe more risk than I am used to but one that I am determined to bring to fruition, I am hoping to unveil it all next summer! So stay tuned for more exciting news as I bring the project together.”